Matthew 12:5

12:5 Or have you not read in the law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are not guilty?

Matthew 8:4

8:4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not speak to anyone, ¹  but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering ²  that Moses commanded, ³  as a testimony to them.” ⁴ 

Matthew 12:4

12:4 how he entered the house of God and they ate ⁵  the sacred bread, ⁶  which was against the law ⁷  for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests? ⁸ 

[8:4]  ¹ sn The command for silence was probably meant to last only until the cleansing took place with the priests and sought to prevent Jesus’ healings from becoming the central focus of the people’s reaction to him. See also 9:30, 12:16, 16:20, and 17:9 for other cases where Jesus asks for silence concerning him and his ministry.

[8:4]  ² tn Grk “gift.”

[8:4]  ³ sn On the phrase bring the offering that Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.

[8:4]  ⁴ tn Or “as an indictment against them.” The pronoun αὐτοῖς (autoi") may be a dative of disadvantage.

[12:4]  ¹ tc The Greek verb ἔφαγεν (efagen, “he ate”) is found in a majority of witnesses (Ì⁷⁰ C D L W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt sy co) in place of ἔφαγον (efagon, “they ate”), the wording found in א B pc. ἔφαγεν is most likely motivated by the parallels in Mark and Luke (both of which have the singular).

[12:4]  ² tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”

[12:4]  ³ sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was against the law is one of analogy: “If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.” Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.

[12:4]  ⁴ sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.